An inherent design feature of roundabouts is that they eliminate high speed left turn and right angle conflicts which are the ones that result in the most serious "T bone" collisions.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety , roundabouts have been shown to reduce fatal collisions by 90 percent, injury collisions by 80 percent and total collisions by almost 40 percent.

Something you may not know about roundabouts involves how trucks get through them properly courtesy of what's called a truck apron. That's the raised, circular concrete part around the center of a roundabout. It acts like an extra lane for large vehicles. So when you're driving a roundabout, and see a trailer riding up on that raised concrete circle, don't worry. That's what it's there for. (See the pictures and video). To learn more, watch " how do I drive a roundabout video " on YouTube and visit WSDOT's roundabout website.